Lady&#39;s purse



NOV. 28, 1967 C* DQPPELT 3,354,925

LADY'S PURSE Filed NOV. 27. 1964 IN VENTOR. CHA/PL 5S DOPPELT BY 01747/ Www United States Patent 3,354,925 LADYS PURSE Charles Doppelt, 601 10th Ave., Hollywood, Fla. 33020 Filed Nov. 27, 1964, ser. No. 414,126 6 Claims. (Cl. 150-33) This invention relates to improvements in ladies purses and the like.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a ladys purse which has means for permitting its expansion or enlargement to increase the capacity thereof when necessary, and yet is of such character that it will be of reduced capacity and reduced to a minimum size when its increased capacity is not needed.

Another object of this invention is to provide a ladys purse which has a closure flap so constructed and arranged that `under normal conditions it will maintain the capacity of the -purse in a minimum dimension and size and yet when necessary will be extended to increase the capacity of the purse.

Another object of this invention is to provide a ladys purse with a handle strap which is adjustable so that the length thereof may be increased to accommodate a ladys hand which may be slipped thereinto, and which strap may otherwise be moved to a centered position for normal use.

Another object of this invention is to provide a ladys purse in which the closure flap is held in closed position by means of a male fastener passing through an opening therein and engaging a female fastener on the handle strap member.

Another object of this invention is to provide a closure ap which while secured in closed position at the front of the purse permits the flap to expand outwardly of the purse to accommodate an increased purse capacity.

Another object of this invention is to provide a very neat, compact, and attractive looking purse having the foregoing advantages.

Other objects will become apparent as this description progresses.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective View of the purse forming this invention with a portion broken away.

FIG. 2 is a sectional View taken on lines 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view taken on lines 3 3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the strap sections forming the handle secu-red in closed position, and

FIG. 5 is a view showing one manner in which the purse may be held.

The invention herein is directed to a ladys purse, although it will be understood that it has application elsewhere.

As shown in the drawings, the purse, generally designated by the numeral 10, is formed of leather or other suitable material and has an outer back wall 12, a bottom wall 14, and an outer -front wall 16, and inwardly folded opposite side walls 18 joining the outer back and front walls. The aforementioned may be made from an integral blank of material or may be made in several sections stitched together. It will be seen that the opposite side w-alls 18 are constructed so that they collapse in the form of an accordion pleat.

A centrally positioned pocket-type c-ontainer, generally indicated at 20, is formed as an integral part of the purse. It includes a pair of U-shaped rigid jaw members 22 pivotally joined together as at 23, which have the conventional snap-type locking means 24 at the top thereof. The pocket container 20 has a pair of inner back and front walls 26 and 27 and a connecting bottom 28 which are connected to the jaw members 22. The inner walls 26 and 27 are stitched or otherwise connected to the side walls 18 of the purse so that they also form the side walls of the pocket container 20 and complete the pocket container.

The inner back wall 26 forms with the Iback wall 12 a back pocket 30, and the inner wall 27 forms with the front wall 16 a front pocket 32.

The outer back wall 12 of the purse is formed to include a backing sheet or member 34 of a flexible but sturdy material having a substantial body. The backing sheet is positioned adjacent the outer back wall 12 and secured thereto, preferably along the top, bottom, and side edges of the backing sheet. The backing sheet is provided with a pair of spaced vertically extending slots 36 which extend from the bottom to a point approximately midway the height of the outer back wall 12. The slots are positioned adjacent the opposite ends of the backing sheet. The slots 36 are each adapted to slidingly accommodate members which are secured to the lower end of the closure flap, as will now be described.

A flexible closure flap, generally designated by the numeral 40, has a rear wall 42 and a continuing top portion 44 and front wall 46. The rear wall 42 is Iadjacent the lower end thereof and is provided with a pair of slide members 43 which are spaced to coincide with the slots and are adapted to slide within the spaced slots 36, heretofore described. They also serve to connect the closure flap 40 to the outer back wall 12 of the purse.

The slide members 43 are formed preferably of metal and comprise a small central shank 44 with front and rear enlarged flanges -46 and 48, which secures the slide members 43 to the rear wall of the closure flap. The rear ilange 48 is positioned rearwardly of the slot 36 between the inner face of the outer b-ack 12 and the adjacent backing sheet 34, with the shank 44 in the slot and the front Hange 46 forwardly of the rear wall 42 of the closure flap, as best seen in FIG. 2. Secured to the lower end of the rear wall `42 of the closure flap 40 is an elastic strip 50, the opposite end of which is secured as at 52 to the bottom wall 14 of the purse.

The closure ll'ap 40 has its top portion 44 extending over the top of the purse, and the front wall 46 of the closure Hap is positioned adjacent the front of the outer front wall 16. The closure flap is also provided with a centrally positioned eyelet S4 which is adapted to engage the male fastening member 56 secured to the lower portion of the front wall 16 of the pu-rse. The member 56 extends through the eyelet to be engaged by a female fastener member on the strap or handle, to be described.

The closure flap 40 is so constructed as to slide relative to the purse, more particularly, the slide is between the rear wall 42 of the closure ap and the outer back wall 12 of the purse. When the pockets of the purse are not lled appreciably, the elastic strip 50 will be in a collapsed state, as shown in FIG. 2, with the closure llap 40l in its retracted position, as shown, wherein the slide members 43 are at the lower ends of the slots 36. The purse then has a slim-line appearance. As the pockets of the purse become filled, the closure flap lengthens or becomes extended by sliding relative to the purse. In such instance, the rear wall 42 moves upwardly relative to the outer back wall 12, with the slide members 43 sliding upwardly in the slots 36, thereby increasing the purse capacity. The elastic strip 50 will retract the closure flap when the outward pull on the closure flap due to the fullness of the pockets is released.

The purse lends itself to providing a very thin or slim body when same is not lled to capacity, yet when necessary, such as when inserting a pack of cigarettes or the like, the capacity of the purse can be increased. This may be accomplished very readily due to the closure flap sliding upwardly to increase the exposed length of the closure ilap and compensate for the increased capacity. The elastic strip will pull the closure ap inwardly into the pocket 30 of the purse when the outward pull is removed, and, therefore, unless the purse capacity requires it the closure flap will remain in its retracted position.

It might be desirable that the upper portion of the rear wall 42 of the flap which moves upwardly and outwardly of the pocket 30 when the purse is extended and becomes visible be made of the same material andcolor as the outer walls of the purse to harmonize therewith, yet said flap could be made of a contrasting color and of other material if desired.

The purse is provided with an adjustable handle or strap at the front thereof, which is generally indicated at 60. The strap is formed in two section, indicated by the numerals 62 and 64, the opposite outer ends of which are suitably secured as by stitching to the front wall 16 of the purse. The inner end of each said strap section has secured to it a looped strap member 62 and 64', respectively, which holds the strap sections ajdacent each other in sliding overlapping relation.

The strap section 62 is provided with a female snap fastener 66 to engage the male fastening member 56 on the front wall of the purse. In closed position the ap extends across the front wall 16 of the purse and the male fastening member 56 on said front wall extends through the eyelet opening 54 of the flap, with the female fastening member 66 on the strap section in engagement therewith. Even in this closed position the strap member 60 is adjustable to increase its length, and the length of the strap may be increased from the center, that is, where it is secured to the front wall, to the end of the strap. By increasing the length of the strap a womans hand may be inserted into said handle section, as shown in FIG. 5, so that she can support the purse with the palm of her hand in an open position if desired. When the strap section 62 is not secured to the male fastener 56, the two strap sections 62 and 64 may be slid outwardly relative to each other until the looped members 62 and 64 abut each other, thereby substantially increasing the overall length of the strap or handle 60.

While the invention as herein illustrated shows a pair of spaced slots 36 and a pair of spaced slide members 43 slidable therein, it will be understood that a single slot and a single slide member, preferably centrally positioned7 may be used in lieu of the pairs shown.

While the invention illustrates the use of an elastic strip 50 connecting the closure flap 40` to the bottom wall 14 of the purse, it will be understood that the connecting strip may be made of non-elastic material.

lt will be understood that various changes and modiiications may be made from the foregoing without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A purse of the character described having a back and a front wall, a pocket formed adjacent the back wall, a closure flap secured to said back wall so as to be slidable ,relative to said back wall to extend the length of said t closure flap, a portion of said closure ap being confined within said pocket, a looking member secured to said front wall, the outer end of said closure flap being releasably secured to said locking member, and a handle strap secured to said purse and extending forwardly of the closure flap, said handle strap adapted to be detachably secured to said locking member to retain said closure ap in closed position.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 in which the handle strap is adjustable to increase the length thereof while in locked position.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1 in which the locking member is centrally positioned and in which the handle is adjustable to increase the length thereof from said locking member to the end thereof.

4. The invention as dened in claim 1 in which the back wall is provided with a pair of slots extending from the bottom upwardly and in which the closure flap is provided with means engaging said slots to permit said closure flap to be slid relative to said rear wall to extend the length of said closure ap outwardly of the rear wall and thereby increase the capacity of the purse.

5. A purse of the character described including, a back wall and a front wall, a closure flap extending from the said back wall over the top of the purse and forwardly of the front wall, said closure ap and back wall having cooperating slots and means sliding therewithin to attach said closure ap to said purse and to permit the closure flap to slide relative to the back wall to increase the length of said flap and thereby increase the capacity of said purse.

6. A purse of the character described including, a back wall and a front wall, a close flap extending from the said back wall over the top of the purse and forwardly of the front wall, and means for attaching said flap to said back wall to permit said ap to be moved relative to said back wall to increase the length of said flap and increase the capacity of said purse, a handle strap extending across the front wall, said handle strap being formed of a pair of sections in overlying relationship, each said strap section having means engaging the other strap to permit sliding engagement of said strap members relative to each other, one of said strap members having means engaging a fastening member on the front wall of said purse to lock said strap thereto, said strap members being so constructed and arranged that they may be adjusted relative to each other while in locked position to extend the length of the strap between the fastening means and the end while in locked position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 156,891 11/1874 Redlefsen 15G-28 453,823 6/ 1891 Weidemann 150-29 1,768,725 7/1930 White 150-33 1,883,702 10/1932 Gomi 150-33 JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

FRANKLIN T. GARRE'IT, Examiner` 

1. A PURSE OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED HAVING A BACK AND A FRONT WALL, A POCKET FORMED ADJACENT THE BACK WALL, A CLOSURE FLAP SECURED TO SAID BACK WALL SO AS TO BE SLIDABLE RELATIVE TO SAID BACK WALL TO EXTEND THE LENGTH OF SAID CLOSURE FLAP, A PORTION OF SAID CLOSURE FLAP BEING CONFINED WITHIN SAID POCKET, A LOCKING MEMBER SECURED TO SAID FRONT WALL, THE OUTER END OF SAID CLOSURE FLAP BEING 